


Sugared Strawberries

by Thealmostrhetoricalquestion



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Coming Out, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Fluff, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 09:43:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14399451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thealmostrhetoricalquestion/pseuds/Thealmostrhetoricalquestion
Summary: Scorpius was afraid of many things. Things like rollercoasters, jellyfish, fireworks, and coming out to his family about his burgeoning, not-straight relationship with Albus.





	Sugared Strawberries

**Author's Note:**

> I am v tired of seeing sad coming out moments - I'm not stupid, I know they're very common, but sometimes you need to re-write the world a little for the sake of your own sanity. The Homophobia Tag is there because Scorpius worries a lot about how his family might react if he comes out to them. No actual homophobia though.

Scorpius was afraid of many things. He was afraid of jellyfish, ever since a trip to the beach when he was younger had left him with an ankle the size of a balloon. He was afraid of the sound fireworks made when they popped and spat and fizzled out. He was afraid of rollercoasters, too, something he only discovered when Albus’s family took him along on one of their Muggle holidays, and he had been sick in Harry Potter’s lap in the middle of a loop-the-loop. 

Most of the things Scorpius was afraid of were physical, tangible things. Most of the things Scorpius was afraid of could be combatted, could be fought off and avoided and worked around. But a particular fear that struck him in the middle of his sixteenth summer and took hold, couldn’t be held or touched. It wasn’t even just one fear. It was a mess of fear, a mass of fear, a sticky, troubling, fearful swarm of feelings. 

Albus Severus Potter kissed Scorpius on the second week of their sixteenth summer, right on the mouth. They were on the balcony of Scorpius’s bedroom, and Scorpius was laughing at something that Lee Jordan had just said on the wireless, and it was remarkably hard to kiss someone when they were laughing, but Albus had given it his best shot. 

Scorpius had sat, stunned, in the mid-morning sun, and kissed his best friend back. He had tasted like the sugared strawberries in the bowl by their knees, and a little like the fresh lemonade growing warm at their sides, and Scorpius had to keep pausing the kiss to grin until his mouth hurt. Albus didn’t seem to mind. 

It wasn’t until Albus left to go home the following week, after twenty-seven kisses, that the fear took root and started to grow, until it was winding around Scorpius’s ribs like the creeping plants in his mum’s greenhouse. 

They had talked, him and Albus, and things were not quite sorted, but they were on the way there. The plan, small as it was, was to keep kissing each other for as long as they could, until one or the other of them no longer had a mouth, or something equally as awful. Scorpius thought it was a pretty good plan. 

Albus didn’t want a label for himself, but he’d like to hold Scorpius’s hand, and he didn’t mind being called his boyfriend. Scorpius didn’t even know about all of the labels out there, and he couldn’t give himself one until he knew everything there was to know. But he knew he liked Albus, wanted to kiss him, and he knew that it didn’t change everything they already had - it just made it better. 

There was still fear, though, because while Scorpius thought this was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and Albus apparently agreed, there was no telling what everyone else might think. And by everyone else, Scorpius mainly meant his family. 

He didn’t think they would mind. Truthfully, he didn’t know, because nothing like this had ever come up before. Scorpius didn’t know anyone else who was possibly-maybe-gay-and-possibly-maybe-not-sticking-a-label-on-it. He didn’t know if his family knew anyone like that either. 

His mum might be okay with it. She was pretty laid-back about most things. His dad might be awkward about it, and decide not to talk about it ever again, which would probably hurt more than Scorpius wanted to admit. His grandmother was brilliant, but she was also old, and the little Scorpius knew about different generations suggested that was a bad thing, if you were not-straight. His grandfather was in jail, so his opinion didn’t really matter.

There was no rule, Scorpius decided at breakfast one morning, that said he had to come out. Especially seeing as he didn’t know what he was yet, but he would have liked to bring Albus to breakfast and kiss his cheek and hold his hand while they ate cereal, if that was what Albus wanted. And it seemed much easier to do that if there was a big announcement beforehand, telling people not to be weird about it, because Scorpius himself was probably going to be a little weird about it. 

“Everything alright, darling?” Astoria asked, buttering her toast. His mum had always been very astute, although not to the extent of his dad, who often saw far more than Scorpius wanted him to see. Luckily, dad had his head buried in a letter this morning, but unluckily, mum had opened her mouth. 

“Just thinking,” Scorpius said quickly. He crammed too many Pygmy Puff-o’s into his mouth and almost choked on the milk, which dribbled attractively down his chin. Grandma Narcissa handed him a napkin without a word and then went back to her croissant, which seemed reluctant to peel open. 

“It’s a shame Albus couldn’t stay for longer,” Astoria said. She filled her mug with more tea and watched Scorpius carefully. “He’s a lovely young man. A bit surly, but very sweet, beneath that. Don't you think, Draco?”

“He spilled the contents of his potions flask down my freshly-painted study wall, so naturally I think he’s a welcome addition to this family,” Draco said, underlining a phrase in his letter. Scorpius winced. 

“Well I’m not looking to adopt the boy, dear, and I seem to remember watching you fall out of a tree several times during your fourth year, so you’re not exactly the most graceful thing on the planet yourself.”

“What were you doing in a tree?” Scorpius frowned. Draco refused to lift his head, stirring his tea idly and turning a delicate shade of red. 

“Charming the pants off Harry Potter,” Astoria said. “Or at least that’s what he thought he was doing.”

“Oh, I remember that,” Grandma Narcissa said, putting her croissant down with a smile. “It was in one of his daily reports.”

“They were letters, mother, not reports. Your dutiful son was penning you a letter every day, out of love, and here you are, mocking him.”

Scorpius grinned at his grandmother over the jam, and she smiled back as Draco began to rant. It was a daily occurence; someone would tease dad about his awfully embarrassing past over the coffee, dad would start a long spiel about how under-appreciated he was in this family, and Scorpius would feel better about whatever had been distracting him. 

This time, it didn’t quite work. 

Things would be different, he realised, if he came out. If he told his family that he was not-straight, there was the possibility, however small, that these mornings would change. There would be no easy-going teasing over the jam and croissants, no recollections of the past, no laughter from Grandma Narcissa. 

It was possible that Scorpius might not even be here to enjoy these mornings. He might be shipped off to a different boarding school, or sent to stay with Uncle Blaise or Aunty Pansy. It was a dramatic thought, but it was there all the same. He bit his lip at the thought and put down his spoon, and the table grew quiet, although he didn’t notice. 

Astoria cleared her throat. “Scorpius, why don't you join me in the greenhouse this morning? I could do with a hand with the tomato plants.”

Scorpius hummed and started to stir his cereal. Breakfast continued at a slow, quiet pace. Draco finished his letter with a concerned frown, and Narcissa conquered her croissant, and Astoria watched her son out of the corner of her eye. 

Scorpius was oblivious to it all. He was too busy feeling afraid. 

*  
He kept the fear inside him for another week before it got to be too much. The only reprieve from it all came in the form of floo calls from Albus, who was being forced to participate in the annual Weasley-Potter Summer Games at the Burrow, and took great pleasure in detailing the way James ate grass during the obstacle course. Scorpius wanted to be there, although the thought of having to do an obstacle course in front of loads of fit Potters and Weasleys dampened his longing somewhat, but he was determined to work through this. 

“You know you don't have to come out, right?” Albus said, one evening. Scorpius was sat cross-legged in front of the fire, staring at the smudge of ash on Albus’s face from the coals. “It doesn’t have to be a big deal. It can be, if that’s what you want, obviously, but you know your family love you.”

Scorpius shook his head vigorously. “That doesn’t always mean they’ll accept me, though, does it? Plenty of people have loving families until they find something out about themselves that their family won’t like. Even if I know it, deep down, that they won’t leave me or hurt me, I still don't feel it.”

Albus’s face softened, and he looked like he wanted to come through the fire and kiss Scorpius silly, which Scorpius would have appreciated. 

“Look, some people don't come out for a long time. Or they come out to some people, and not others. Or they just bring their partner home one day and that’s it. Point is, you don't have to do it until you’re ready.”

Scorpius groaned and flopped dramatically on the rug, pout pressed against the flowery pattern. Albus laughed softly, not unkindly, and blew a long breath at him, since he couldn’t reach through the fire. 

“I don't like keeping things like this inside,” Scorpius said. “And I don't like that it’s making me doubt the people I love. It feels wrong, like I’m - I don’t know, betraying them? Being unfair? I don’t know.”

“Sometimes that doubt is what keeps people safe,” Albus said quietly, and when Scorpius glanced up, Albus fixed him in place with a serious look that took him by surprise. Albus was often surly, but rarely serious. 

“You know I don't like talking about stuff like this, but you have to know… there’s no shame in not coming out. Coming out is a pretty big, brave thing to do, but sometimes staying closeted is safer, and there’s bravery in that too. Just… don't do anything until you’re ready. And you know you always have a place here, if things do go badly. Which they won’t.”

Albus pulled a face, and Scorpius laughed brightly at his consternation. He felt a little warmer inside, even when Albus blew ash towards him in retaliation. 

*  
Scorpius knew what was keeping him quiet. It wasn’t just the fear of what might happen, it was the worry that things would change after that, that every easy interaction would become laden with tension, that his family would look at him and see _gay_ rather than _son_. There was nothing he could do once the information was out there, nothing he could do about the way people saw him. He wanted to be exactly the same as he had been before, and he didn’t want to be looked at differently. 

He wanted to be himself, as he always had been, and he could not escape the feeling that coming out would change everything. 

Summer would not last forever, and Scorpius knew that if he kept this inside, it would eat away at his last year of school. Albus had said that some people kept things like this a secret for years, but Scorpius didn’t want to have to hide part of himself for that long, not from the people he loved. Part of him was unsure - surely, you were supposed to keep this inside for longer, to turn it over and over in your mind before you came out? That was what always happened in the stories. 

But Scorpius had Albus now, and he wanted to share that. He couldn’t control how people looked at him, but he could control how they found out. And he could control who found out. 

So he started with his mum, because she seemed like the kindest option. 

*  
Scorpius knew that his mum was deeper than most people assumed. Most people looked at her and saw nothing but expensive taste and immaculate manners. 

Astoria Greengrass was much more than fancy gowns and parties and hair-styling spells. She didn’t see a problem with women - or men, or anyone, really - being the type of person who was just fancy gowns and parties and hair-styling spells, but she was much more than that. She disliked poetry, and she hated cooking, and she loved to dance. Gardening soothed her. Firewhiskey lightened her mood, but wine brought her down. French films were her favourite, and she used to watch them in secret when she was younger, up in the attic, with Daphne’s hand clasped tightly in hers. Astoria was many things, and she felt many things. 

She adored being a mother, and she loathed being a wife, so she wasn’t one. That was a secret Scorpius knew that he probably shouldn’t have. 

On the outside, Astoria Greengrass was Astoria Malfoy, but in truth, Draco and Astoria had never been together, not properly. They had Scorpius together, and they lived in the same house, and sometimes they even shared the same bed, when Draco was feeling upset or Astoria’s feet were cold - something Scorpius had noticed when he was younger, and used to crawl into their bed after a nightmare. Despite all of this, they had never been in a romantic relationship. 

They were best friends, as far as Scorpius could tell. Astoria had given Draco a chance at a new life, after the war, and he had given her companionship and stability, a ruse to hide behind in the public eye. 

It was weird, but Scorpius wasn’t one to talk about weird. He put the milk in the bowl first when he made cereal in the mornings. 

In her greenhouse, Scorpius’s mum became Astoria Greengrass, and she could be exactly what she wanted to be. The glass panels threw her reflection back at her, sweaty and dirty and rumpled, and she lived for it. Scorpius waited until they were both there one morning - he liked to help her sometimes, although he didn’t know a thing about plants, not like Albus did - before he posed the question. 

“Mum, how’d you know that dad was the one for you?” Scorpius asked, spraying a tomato plant with water vigorously. 

Astoria held in her laughter with great difficulty. She brushed a hand over Scorpius’s head, her fingers soft against his scalp. She had a tattoo of a sunflower on the inside of her index finger, and Scorpius had liked to trace it when he was younger. 

“I didn’t.” At Scorpius’s questioning look, Astoria shook her head lightly. “Your father and I…”

She stopped, and Scorpius could tell that she didn’t quite know how to put it. He hadn’t phrased the question properly, he thought, because mum thought he didn’t know about their not-relationship, and in actuality he was trying to tell her he was gay. Or not-straight, but gay seemed to fit for the moment. Scorpius grimaced. Why did all of this have to be so complicated?

There were footsteps from behind him, and Scorpius barely noticed them, caught up in his own head. 

“We aren’t together, Scorpius,” Draco said, startling him. “Your mum and I, we aren’t together. We got married so that we could be free from speculation and rumours, and to keep each other company, but we were never actually together.”

Astoria wrinkled her nose. “That makes us sound incredibly sad.”

“Aren’t we?”

Scorpius squeezed the handle of the watering can a little too hard, spurting water all over the floor. He felt a little foolish, and he wasn’t sure how to rearrange his question so that they’d understand. He also didn’t want to tell his mum and dad at the same time, so maybe the misunderstanding was safer for now.

“I know you’re not actually together, like a married couple, but how did you know you were the one for each other? Like, how did you know you could live together and still love each other, that kind of thing? You’re still best friends, after all of this, so you must love each other.”

They both stared at him, stunned. For a few strained moments, there was nothing but silence, and then Astoria started to laugh heartily, holding on to the nearest table to keep herself upright. Possibly it was Scorpius’s sheepish look that had done it, or Draco’s dumbfounded one, or just the shock of the moment. 

“You knew the whole time?” Draco asked. 

Scorpius finally realised that his parents were having something of a breakdown. He put the watering can down and glanced between them, brow furrowed. 

“Well, not the whole time. Not when I was little. But I asked Grandma Narcissa about it a couple of years ago, when I started getting suspicious, and she told me the truth.” Scorpius shrugged. “I didn’t say anything because I figured you were keeping it a secret for a reason, and you’d tell me when you wanted to.”

Astoria was about to open her mouth and say something about how incredibly smart Scorpius was, probably, when Scorpius started to have something of an epiphany. He repeated his words to himself, quietly, and Astoria shared a look with Draco as he reached up to kiss her on the cheek, before barrelling into his dad with a large hug. And then he was gone, racing out of the greenhouse and towards the Manor. 

If he had stayed, he might have seen two old friends link arms and sigh fondly at him, but he didn’t, so that was that. 

*  
“You know I could always be with you when you do it,” Albus offered. Scorpius had his head in the fire this time, and Albus had spent the first five minutes making fun of the shower cap on Scorpius’s head, secured in place to keep the ash out of his hair. 

Now, Albus was doodling on the corner of an essay that was due the first week back at Hogwarts, keeping his head tilted down to avoid eye contact. Scorpius smiled a little dopily. 

“I think I should probably do it on my own, but if it goes well, I’ll be introducing you properly to the family as my boyfriend,” Scorpius teased. The tip of Albus’s quill slid along the parchment a little, and his cheeks darkened. “How did your family take it?”

“I mean, Jamie’s already out, so they weren’t too bothered about it,” Albus said, shrugging. Scorpius wanted to hold his hand, but he settled for a small smile instead, which Albus returned. 

“I don't mind,” he said. “Means I didn’t have to worry too much about how they’d take it. It’s weird though, because I was still worried even though I knew they wouldn’t care, like you said before.”

They fell into contemplative silence. Scorpius kicked his feet against the rug, and a hundred miles away, Albus sneezed in his own living room, right in front of him. Magic was weird. Scorpius loved it. 

He loved Albus, too, but he wasn't ready to say that yet. He had a feeling Albus knew anyway, and that was enough for now. 

“I don't think I said before, but it was pretty brave of you, to kiss me,” Scorpius mused. “It’s like coming out, but in an extra big way.”

Albus paused, twirling his quill around his fingers. “That was pretty brave of me, wasn’t it?”

Scorpius found himself laughing even in the face of Albus’s smug smirk. 

“You get more like James every day.”

_“Take it back.”_

*

His own words from the greenhouse had helped a surprising amount to ease the pressure of coming out, but Scorpius still wanted it done before he left for Hogwarts. He wondered if he could get away with shouting it out of the window of the Hogwarts Express as it pulled away from the station, but he could easily picture his dad racing alongside the train on a hastily-summoned broomstick for the length of the country if he did that. 

As funny as the image was, it would be less funny in practice. 

“You’re not paying attention, love.”

Scorpius pushed away the mental image and replaced it with the real-life image of his potion bubbling over, green suds spilling down the sides of the cauldron and onto the rug. Grandma Narcissa waved the mess away with her wand, leaving Scorpius with an empty cauldron and a grumpy expression. 

“Your heart doesn’t seem to be in this today,” Narcissa said. “Maybe we should try again tomorrow.”

“I promised Albus I’d work on this, so that when we go back we won’t have to study so much potions, and we can focus on charms more,” Scorpius explained. 

Narcissa hummed, a small smile on her face. “And how is the handsome young Albus? Still sending you love-struck looks every time you enter a room?”

Scorpius twitched and dropped his ladle. His grandmother had that effect on him. She had that effect on most people, in all honesty, and Scorpius wasn’t sure how the world had survived Narcissa Malfoy. 

“He doesn’t send me love-struck looks,” Scorpius said, carefully measuring out the right amount of Lionfish spine. 

“Oh, he absolutely does, my dear, but if you enjoy living in denial, then that’s your prerogative.”

Narcissa winked at him. Scorpius scowled down at his potion. 

“Kissing him back isn’t living in denial,” he grumbled, and then slapped a hand over his mouth in horror. Narcissa watched him with comically wide eyes, and then she started to chuckle. She sat down gracefully on the nearest chair and laughed until Scorpius stopped being horrified and started being annoyed again. 

“I feel like you planned that,” Scorpius complained. 

“I wish I had, Scorpius, darling, because then I would have known to set up cameras to capture that particular expression.” She winked again, and then got up to kiss Scorpius on the forehead. Scorpius relaxed, sighing as he leaned forward over the potion, which was bubbling up again. Grandma Narcissa always smelled like lemon cake, and it was soothing. 

“I haven’t told anyone yet,” Scorpius murmured. “Just you and Albus know.”

“It’s your decision who you tell and when you tell them,” Narcissa said. “Absolutely nobody will hear it from me, but might I suggest you finish up this potion and come with me to meet a friend of mine.”

Scorpius lifted both eyebrows. “Who?”

“Her name is Cordelia Zabini, and I imagine we all have a little something in common,” Narcissa said. She seemed a little nervous, which was what tipped the hat in Scorpius’s direction. He widened his eyes. 

“Oh. Oh! I didn’t know.”

“Not many people do. I must say, it’s quite nice to finally tell someone, isn’t it?”

Scorpius thought for a minute. He didn’t feel any different inside, and there was still a swirling mess of anxiety and fear inside of him, but a strange weight had lifted from his shoulders the moment he spoke. He breathed out, deeply, and smiled. 

“Yeah, it does. I was hoping it would, when I finally got round to it. Do you… do you think mum and dad will mind?”

Narcissa shook her head, her white hair swaying gently from side to side. “I know there are a lot of Purebloods who oppose these sorts of things. I also know that your parents aren’t those sort of Purebloods, not now. I think they’ll just be happy that you’re happy.”

Scorpius stewed on that for a moment, while his grandmother watched him. “I suppose. I guess I’ll have to see. But wait, are you really dating a lady witch, Grandma?”

“My libido did not die with my marriage, dear.”

Scorpius recoiled and said, “Bloody hell, Grandma.”

Narcissa tapped him on the nose and smiled. “Language, dear. Now, come on. These potions won’t finish themselves.”

*

“So then we had tea and sandwiches, and Mrs Zabini made me take one of those walks around the living room with her, like they do in really old books. Except we didn’t talk all fancy-like, we just had to say the rudest things we could about the portraits on the wall as we passed them.”

Albus had actually come through the floo this time, and they were both curled up on the rug in the sitting room, facing each other on their sides. Their hands were inches from each other, and it was all Scorpius could think about, but he didn’t want to do anything when he was pretty sure his dad was just in the next room.

“She sounds pretty brilliant,” Albus said, shifting closer to press a quick kiss to Scorpius’s lips. He kept doing it, had been doing it since he arrived in a shower of green flames, and it sent thrills up Scorpius’s spine each time. 

“She was cool,” Scorpius agreed. They lapsed into silence for a minute, and then Albus shifted even closer. 

“You told someone, though, Scorpius. That’s a pretty big thing.”

“Yeah, I did,” Scorpius said, a little wonderingly. “Even if it was an accident, I still told someone.”

He caught Albus’s grin with his mouth, rolling them over on the rug and kissing him hard. He wanted to laugh at the happy, bubbling feeling inside him, but he settled for kissing Albus instead. 

He wondered if every kiss would taste like sugared strawberries, no matter where they were. 

*

Scorpius told his mum the week before he was due to go back to Hogwarts. He was sitting on the ground in the greenhouse, head tilted up to watch as Astoria cooed at the tomato plants, coaxing them into life. Some weren’t as red as she wanted them to be, apparently, because she started to sing before long. It wasn’t the best singing voice in the world - in fact, it was rather terrible, but Scorpius listened hard all the same. 

“I wanted to tell you something,” Scorpius said, twisting the hem of Albus’s faded shirt in his hands. 

Astoria smiled brightly at him and settled on the ground in front of him, careless of the dirt and grass that would no doubt stick to her skirt. 

“Is it a secret? You’ve seemed like you had a secret, this past few weeks.” Astoria kept smiling at him, even as Scorpius drew shapes on the ground with his finger, even as he lost himself in worries and doubts and panic. She kept smiling, and she brushed a hand through his hair, and the sunflower tattoo on her hand caught his eye and grounded him when she waved a hand in front of his face. 

“You in there, love? Everything okay?”

“I’m dating someone,” Scorpius blurted out. 

Astoria blinked at him. Her smile didn’t falter, but her eyes changed a little, mostly with confusion. This wasn’t the secret she had been expecting, and Scorpius didn’t blame her. 

“When do I get to meet this girl?” Astoria said, teasing, and Scorpius flinched. He didn’t mean to but, the word seemed to cut into him, or maybe it was the assumption that sent a fresh wave of panic washing over him. He wondered distantly if he was being too dramatic, too silly, if he was making a big deal over nothing, but he was _feeling_ all of these things regardless of whether they were justified, so it didn’t really matter. 

“Or maybe not a girl?” Astoria said softly. “You know that’s okay, don't you? You can date whoever you like, and as long as they’re good to you, it doesn’t matter to me. It’s okay if you’re… well, anything.”

Scorpius smiled weakly up at her. He felt wrung out and weirdly exhausted, and he wasn’t sure if he could get up for a while. 

“We’re going with not-straight for now.”

Astoria laughed. “Not-straight. I like it. It suits you. I’m proud of you, love.”

The laugh calmed Scorpius, but the words warmed him to the core. He leaned back against the greenhouse, felt the heat of the sun through the glass at his back, and couldn’t help but think that the sun had nothing on how warm his mum made him feel inside. 

*  
Scorpius had the butter dish and a spoon out when Draco came down the cold kitchen stairs. Scorpius stopped, shrouded in darkness, with a spoonful of butter halfway inside his mouth, and watched his dad squint at him from the bottom of the stairs. 

“Scorpius, it’s half-past two in the morning. Do I want to know?” Draco asked. “Is this some sad teenage thing that I’ve helpfully repressed?”

Scorpius swallowed the butter and shrugged. Draco cringed, shuddered, and then turned to fumble around in the cupboard above the sink for a Headache Potion. Scorpius watched him down the potion and then dig out a loaf of bread from the bread-bin, which he then dropped in front of Scorpius. 

“At least spread it on something,” Draco said. Nobody else would have been able to hear the achingly fond tone to his voice, but Scorpius did, and it gave him courage. 

“Dad, I have to tell you something,” Scorpius said. He froze as soon as the words left his mouth, and suddenly he wasn’t sure that he could do it. His throat felt thick, although that was probably the butter, and he couldn’t speak until his dad lowered himself into the seat beside him, shuffling along the bench and putting a hand on his chin. 

“Is everything okay? Are you sick? I have potions, if you just tell me what’s wrong.”

Scorpius felt his eyes fill with tears, and he dropped the spoon with a clatter. His dad’s eyes were panicked now, and his hands were fluttering all around, like butterflies, hesitant to land. 

Scorpius took a shaky breath. “I’m fine. I’m not sick. It’s nothing… nothing bad. At least, I don't think so, but you might. That’s - that’s why I didn’t want to tell you, but I don't like keeping secrets.”

“You never have,” Draco said, with a small, worried smile. “You told your mum about your birthday present for her about ten seconds after we spent the whole day shopping for it.”

Scorpius sniffed. “I was five, dad. That doesn’t count.”

“Course not,” Draco said, and he rubbed Scorpius’s back in soothing circles. It was nice. A bit awkward, because they didn’t usually do this - just a quick hug every now and again, and a longer hug before Scorpius went off to Hogwarts each term, but it was nice. 

“Have you told anyone else?” Draco asked, after Scorpius’s hiccups subsided. “About whatever it is?”

Scorpius bit his lip. “I told mum the other day, and grandma the other week. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I wasn’t sure how you’d take it.”

Draco hummed in thought. Then he turned properly to face Scorpius, and Scorpius braced himself. He had no idea what was coming, but he didn’t think he was going to like it. 

“I can’t promise anything, because I don't know what your secret is, so I don't know how I’m going to react,” Draco said. “I can promise you that I’m going to love you no matter what. Understand?”

Scorpius swallowed hard, and then threw his arms around his dad’s neck. He seemed surprised, but went with it, wrapping his arms around Scorpius and squeezing him tightly. 

“I don't understand how people can say you’d be a bad dad,” Scorpius muttered. 

Draco pulled back, affronted. “Who says that? Is it Potter? I bet it’s Potter.”

Scorpius snorted a laugh and shook his head, settling back into his chair and wiping his eyes. “Al’s dad’s never said a bad word about you. Well, he called you fussy, once, and he said you were a snob, but that’s it.”

Draco gaped at him. He started muttering obscenities under his breath, and Scorpius took advantage of his distraction to muster some strength. He meant to say the words firmly, but they came out small and unsure instead. 

“Dad, I think I might be gay.”

Draco stopped cursing and stared at him, eyes wide and shocked. 

“Or, at least not-straight,” Scorpius said, rambling slightly. “I’m dating Albus. Or we’ve kissed a lot, which you probably don't want to know, so that counts as dating, I think. We haven’t actually been on a date yet, and I don't know if I’m gay or something else because I’ve been too busy worrying about telling people to figure it out.”

He paused for breath and scrunched up his nose. “Which seems a bit backwards, now that I think about it.”

Draco spluttered a laugh and then put a hand over his eyes. He sighed deeply, and Scorpius would have been hurt, except it was definitely a relieved sigh. 

“Honestly, Scorpius. I thought you’d killed someone, or you were dying, you looked so worried.” Draco straightened up and pressed a kiss to his temple, quick as you like. He looked grouchy at having done it, and Scorpius blushed happily, swinging his feet a little. 

“I’m glad that you felt you could tell me, and I’m sorry I ever made you doubt that you could,” Draco said. Scorpius shook his head. 

“I think I would have been worried about telling you even if you came over and said that you’d throw me a party if I was gay,” Scorpius said. Draco laughed and reached over him to put the lid back on the butter dish. 

“We can talk about this more in the morning, especially the bit about you and the miniature Potter,” Draco said, and Scorpius groaned, “but for now, please stop eating butter out of the dish before you give yourself, and me, a heart attack.”

*

Albus’s head joined them for breakfast the following morning. Scorpius quick-marched towards the fire, where Albus’s face was watching him suspiciously, and it wasn’t until Scorpius leaned down to kiss him quickly that he broke out into a wide grin. 

“I told you it would be fine,” Albus said. 

“Shut up,” Scorpius said, and he snatched a piece of toast off the table and put it in Albus’s mouth before he could say anything more. 

“Ah, young love,” Draco said drolly. “How I miss it.”

“Did you ever have it?” Narcissa asked, sounding genuinely curious. Draco began to splutter and rant, and Scorpius sat cross-legged next to Albus’s head while his mum passed him the Pygmy Puff-o’s with a warm smile. He poured the milk into the bowl first, listening as his grandmother calmly shot her son down, and Albus spat out ot his toast in disgust as he watched Scorpius. 

“That’s just wrong, you know,” Albus said, jerking his head at Scorpius’s breakfast. Scorpius lifted the bowl and slurped the milk rather pointedly, and Albus whined until Scorpius put the bowl down and gave him some more, un-spat-out toast in a smaller portion. 

Draco’s ranting reached a painful volume, Astoria patted him on the arm, and Narcissa made a dry remark that would no doubt send him into a sulk. Scorpius tuned it out in favour of kissing Albus on the forehead. 

He had worried that things would change, and they had; now, he had a boyfriend to sit with during the teasing breakfasts, and he felt lighter and warmer inside. He was not naive enough to think that every coming out would be as safe and sound as his had been so far, but he knew he would already have those who cared about him standing by his side, for when he did choose to tell any more of the world. 

Things had definitely changed, but only for the better.

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! Done! If it feels a little under-developed, I'm sorry, I'll try and come back to it soon and fix it up a bit. Hope you enjoyed though!


End file.
